Recently a survey was commissioned to find out what young adults (16-29 year olds) who don’t attend church think about Christianity and Christians. The findings from this research were published in a book called “unchristian”. The bottom line was that Christians have a huge image problem. We are seen as being:
- Hypocritical
- Just interested in “getting people saved”
- Anti-homosexual
- Sheltered
- Too Political
- Judgmental
At Community Christian one of the things we have been saying since we started was “we want to change the way people think about church.” Particularly, we want to change the way people who don’t go to church think about church. So for us, this was important research.
Many of you will have already received a mail piece that we designed to directly speak to these perceptions. If you are reading this because you got that piece of mail and are angry at us because you are a Christian and feel it unfairly represents you – I understand. Many followers of Christ I know are not represented by those perceptions. It hurts me personally to think that when I get introduced as a pastor to someone who isn’t a Christian that those perceptions run through their head. It often takes several incidents where someone will say “So you don’t hate gay people?" or “If I don’t believe what you believe, we can still be friends?” or “What do you mean you don’t always vote Republican? You’re a Christian!”
However even though those perceptions don’t represent me and many followers of Christ, I certainly can see how people arrived at those perceptions. That’s why the back of our cards say, “We hear what you are saying! We see who might think that. And we mostly have ourselves to blame!” It’s important that we try to start a conversation with people who might believe this way - to let them know that we have heard them - and to ask them to give us another chance – to give Christianity another chance – to give Jesus another chance.
So, if you are reading this and you got the card and you are a skeptic about Christians and the church, we understand why you think that. We (Christians) have done many things to cause you to think that. We’re asking you to give us another shot. We are actually learning these days to be more honest about our flaws. We really do love people and God really does have solutions to help all of us.
6 comments:
Church for the rest of us? You mean people who do not show respect for Gods Word by hiding a playboy in it. If that is "The rest of us" I think you have completely missed it.
Christians should not lower their standards to meet the people who have no standards. I have NEVER read anywhere in the Bible where Jesus lowered His standards just to reach those people. (maybe you will find that in the playboy) He did love them but He brought them to a higher standard. Maybe Jesus should have taken a survey of the people instead of listening to His Father, then we would not have salvation today.
So play your music a little too loud so people are distracted while you brain wash them with this crap.
No one is perfect but being a "christian" means that you are becoming more like Jesus. Romans 12 says NOT to be conformed to the world "the rest of us"
If being a Christian does not make you better, different, then why waste your time. Just a thought.
Thanks for your time...
Since Jesus knew the hearts of people he didn't have to take a survey - he knew where they were and who they were. "The rest of us" have to ask questions and hear perceptions and then "become all things to all men that we might by all means save some (1 Cor. 9:22). It's not a lowering of standards, it a changing of methods to speak to people where they are and admit that we (followers of Christ) have kep them from seeing Jesus. As far as Jesus lowering his standards you are right he never did. Because his standard never was "be right and be accepted". He standard was "I don't condemn you now go and sin no more."
So you are telling people that if they want to reach out to a drunk, then they need to get drunk? If they want to minister to a prostitute then they have to sleep with her? Is that what you think 1 Cor 9:22 is saying?
We must me talking about a different Jesus (2 Cor 11:4)
The Jesus I serves says for me to be Holy because He is Holy.
I do understand that Christians are viewed as judgmental, and many are, and that is wrong -the bible teaches against it. But to go as far as being like those who you are tying to reach, the bible teaches against that (Rom 12). Like my mom has always said, "Two wrongs do not equal a right". Maybe just striving to live to please God with our lives and let the Holy Spirit do the work in the hearts of "the rest of us"
Just curious, is there a "Heaven for the rest of us" a special heaven where sin is acceptable?
Does TYNDALE know that you are using his name on your attempt to discredit the Bible and Pastors?
You have a good ministry at your church, I used to go there, in the teens class. Just did not like the way Jesus or the church was presented.
The postcard isn't "discrediting the Bible or preachers." It is speaking to the fact that many people outside the church see Christians condemining something (in this case pornography) while at the same time secretly participating in it. There is nothing on the card that indicates CCC is okay with that kind of hypocrisy. In fact the opposite is true. The back of the card just admits that this is a perception (Christians are hypocritical) and that Christians have no one to blame but themselves for that perception.
There is nothing in what we say or about the passage from 1 Cor. that would say "get drunk to reach people who drink." You need to read the whole passage. Paul is saying that methods (loud music for instance - which you condemned in the first comment) can change to reach people where they are.
Your mom is right. But living to please God includes reaching out to people that are far from God. Not becoming like them but certainly befriending them, accepting them, loving them and welcoming them.
Thanks for the comments about the church. Sorry our ministry wasn't helpful. I hope you've found a church where you are serving.
Churches like people have styles. Now maybe that sounds too trend-oriented, but it's true. And even sharing the same message we can have different methods. Just because the music is loud, doesn't mean we are not honoring God, I believe HE rocks out just as much as He sways...
my calling is in the area of creative arts, and I've heard the comments before...believe me the first time I did a drama in church about adultry I got nervous. But afterwards, when a couple came to me who had lived what they saw and told me they knew we (the church) understood, it made me realize this:
Jesus went to the prostitute, he didn't wait for her to clean-up and come to Him. Jesus had dinner with Matthews friends (who were partying it up). He sat there with them, and Jesus probably had some wine, but that's another argument for another time.
The point is that some of us realize the the Gospel has been put on a high shelf...some do it because they like to think they're better because they can reach it from a stool their Grandma gave them. But there are thousands out there, youth especially who look up and say, "I can't reach that." All were doing is taking the same message and making it easier to reach, just as Jesus did.
As I said, there are different styles, different methods, but only one message.
I don't want to give you the impression I can speak for CCC, the "we" was to say we that are trying to think outside the sheep pen. I am not a member of CCC, however I am one of the hundreds, maybe thousands at this point, who was radically changed by Jesus through Community Christian Church. My husband, who was one of those who was cynical about church and believed that it was defined more by it's hypocrisy than by it's love. I am greatful that our experience at CCC changed that.
So some christians didn't like the card...did they ever think, it wasn't for them...mass mailing has it's draw backs.
I never saw the card, I may have not liked the graphic either, but I do know it's always easier to critisize how another farmer plants seeds and tends his crop, rather than focus on the plot of land you've been given. The proof is in the harvest... "you will know them by their fruit"
BTW Ed, thanks, they say up here that they don't come much fruitier than me and my family.
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